The Year In Review

Last month marked the end of the 2012 Action Corps season. The overwhelming success of last year means there's a lot to live up to, though I'm confident there are good things in store for 2013. Before we move on, I want to take a moment to recognize all we've accomplished this past year.




Nationwide, Oxfam Action Corps gathered over 10,000 petition signatures, did 105 lobby visits, organized 503 events, and performed outreach at 142 concerts, farmers markets, and campus events. 2012 ushered in the second year of the global GROW movement and the unveiling of the Behind the Brands campaign.

The momentum behind the Behind the Brands campaign is especially significant. Nestle, Mars, and Mondelez agreed to major policy changes less than two months after OAC volunteers took to the streets to demand fair treatment for women. Considering there are 40 million farmers whose livelihoods depend on cocoa, and these companies control 30 percent of the market, these are some big changes. 


Here in Albuquerque we were proud to participate in the Behind the Brands unveiling and year-long promotion of the GROW Method. World Food Day events in October were a highlight, with outreach to restaurants serving local food and our first big community dinner made from Growers Market leftovers.

Coordinating the 100 person Hunger Banquet and presenting at the IMPACT Conference was equally rewarding. We've also made some great partners with Bread, Nourish, Community Bricolage, Interfaith Power and Light, Food Corps, and more. Finally, I'm excited for more volunteer fun with picnics, Explora Science of Food nights, and movie screenings such as Half the Sky. We couldn't have pulled off any of our events without support from headquarters and our wonderful team of committed volunteers, so to them I owe a big thank you.  
 
Whew--what a stellar year! Here's a look at what's in store and more about our incoming organizers:

Katherine Chavez was born and raised in New Mexico. She joined the US Navy at age 19 and served four years before moving to Hanford, California where she worked as a bartender at a Mexican restaurant. Kathy currently works as a pediatric nurse at the University of New Mexico Hospital. She became involved with Oxfam at Albuquerque’s downtown growers’ market and later found herself volunteering in a kitchen full of great fresh food and wonderful, fun people. Kathy is excited to join the New Mexico Oxfam Action Corps as a new co-organizer and can't wait to do outreach at concerts and the Growers Market.

Jasmine McBeath is from Arizona, but moved to Albuquerque a year ago. She works at Big Brothers Big Sisters, offering support to volunteers, families, and children. She finds the work extremely rewarding (with the added benefit that it helps her practice her Spanish). When she returned from her year in Brazil, she wanted to continue learning about development work and low-and-behold she found Oxfam. She has been a leader for the New Mexico Action Corps this past year and is thrilled to be back on board. Jasmine is looking forward to training new volunteers and organizing a big community dinner on World Food Day in October.

Kalen Olson was a peer facilitator for the spring Oxfam Action Corps training in DC. This past year, she organized with Jasmine for the New Mexico chapter and worked as Alumni Relations Coordinator at the University of New Mexico College of Pharmacy. She loves food and teaching hip-hop. Here she is pictured with her brother Ryan, back home in Washington at the Fort, celebrating the 4th of July at the biggest fireworks display west of the Mississippi. Kalen is excited to be back a second year, spreading the word about Oxfam's work through restaurant outreach and tabling around town. 

Dinner at the Dismas House

by Jasmine McBeath

Half a year after meeting Kathy Chavez, our community chef extraordinaire, I'm still wowed by how she can put together a meal from whatever food is laying around the kitchen, including those pesky leftovers challenging you from the fridge. This past Friday I saw Kathy in her element as she coordinated from the kitchen of the Dismas House. I was content chopping vegetables, while other Oxfam volunteers plus Dismas' staff and residents prepared appetizers, dessert, and side dishes.

I first learned about the Dismas House from Greg Heilers, one of our Oxfam volunteers. Greg is part of the house staff and told me how the program helps adults on probation and parole transition into society. On Friday I received the full tour and learned there are actually multiple buildings on the property that house 17 residents at any time and almost 100 residents throughout the year. Their Volunteer Dinner Program is a way for residents to meet new people and network for jobs and housing opportunities. For us, it was a fun way to spend a Friday evening, with good food and even better company.


One resident from Las Cruces lamented that the red chile made him miss home. Most everything from the dinner was local following the GROW Method, from the beans harvested in Estancia to the carrots grown at Skarsgard Farms. Kathy even provided a healthy twist on local recipes such as turkey adovada, a delicious dish made with potatoes, red chile and turkey. Of course, no meal would be complete in New Mexico without either red or green chile. We were lucky enough to have both.


 We started talking about New Mexico in the context of food, and soon we were discussing water rights, conservation, and solar power. A number of Dismas House residents had experience installing solar panels and were passionate about the environment.  We also touched on things everyone can do, such as eating less meat or using less water when cooking or brushing your teeth.

More importantly, we shared our experiences and what brought us to Albuquerque. Kalen and I were particularly moved by a resident who said he's extremely grateful to be where he is now and couldn't be more excited to live his life. It was a good reminder for me, and at the end of the night, I felt the same way.

Thank you Dismas House for the warm welcome!


And...a final shout out to our volunteers: Greg (pictured above), Pat, Kathy, and Kalen

International Women's Day in ABQ

by Jasmine McBeath

2 giant chocolates, 11 volunteers, 167 signatures, and 250 bars of candy. Those are the key numbers from our action here in Albuquerque on International Women's Day. On March 8th, Oxfam chapters across the country recognized International Women's Day by highlighting gender inequality in the supply chains of Nestle, Mondelez, and Mars. While these companies control 40 percent of the chocolate market, they haven't done nearly enough to tackle the issues faced by women who grow cocoa. The narrator of the Oxfam clip The Truth about Women and Chocolate states, "For decades, the big chocolate companies have put women first in their ads, but when it comes to the women who grow their cocoa...the truth: hunger, inequality, unfair pay." 

So, we spent International Women's Day at UNM and Nob Hill telling people how chocolate is a $100 billion business but most cocoa farmers live on less than $2 a day. We distributed specially packaged Oreos from Mondelez, M&Ms from Mars, and Crunch Bars from Nestle. The candy had labels that mimicked the normal branding but with Oxfam messaging. The front had a catchy tagline and on the back the 'nutrition facts' became the 'not-so-sweet facts' with the chocolate company rankings according to 18 months of research by Oxfam. Out of ten, Mars and Mondelez scored 1 and 2 respectively, while Nestle received a 4. What's a chocolate lover to do? 

The answer was not obvious to most people. In fact, students kept asking why we were handing out candy from these companies if we hated their policies.  We told them how Oxfam knows that even big companies care what their consumers think. Rather than encourage boycotting, it's more powerful to speak out against injustice and encourage the companies to improve their standings. Just tell Mondelez that you love Oreos but equality for women farmers would make their cookies even sweeter.  Or tell all three companies by signing the petition here, by clicking on "take action" in the upper right corner.  

We reached over 250 people through our outreach in Albuquerque. More impressive is the combined effort. On March 8th alone over 10,000 people signed the Oxfam online petition.  Two weeks later, that number is almost 70,000.  The companies are already responding and have made commitments to improve their policies toward women.  According to Alison Woodhead, the campaign manager for Behind the Brands, “Mars, Mondelez and Nestle have the power and responsibility to make a difference for these women. All three companies have said they will do more to make their products more sustainable, now is their chance to keep that promise.” 

 

The work isn't over yet, and we're hitting the streets again this Friday, March 22nd. Our goal is 100 signatures at UNM from 12-2pm at the plaza in front of Zimmerman library. Please come say hi, sign your name, and if you have time stay to talk with us about the Behind the Brands Campaign and how you can help.
 





Much thanks to Aaron Gonzales and Carlos Navarro for the amazing photos!